What Are The Relationships Among Results Of Three Dental Hygiene Examinations: A Summative Structured Clinical Examination, A Clinical Competency Examination And The Dental Hygiene Regional Board Examination In Minnesota?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among a regional clinical board examination, a curriculum-based clinical competency examination and a summative objective structured clinical examination administered to senior dental hygiene students at the University of Minnesota. Methods A convenience sample of twenty-two senior dental hygiene students at the University of Minnesota participated in this study during the 2017 academic year. A correlational design was used to investigate the relationships among the Central Regional Dental Testing Service, Inc. (CRDTS) examination, a curriculum-based clinical competency examination (CCE) and a summative objective structured clinical examination (s-OSCE). Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to compare students’ final scores on each examination. The associations among the results (percent scores) of the three examinations were measured using Pearson correlation coefficients. Significance was determined at p-value < 0.05. Results The total scores of the CCE and CRDTS examinations resulted in a positive correlation. At the 0.05 p-value level, none of the correlations among the examinations were statistically significant. Conclusion This study found disparities between academic achievement (s-OSCE scores) and performance in clinical settings (CCE and CRDTS scores).